VIDEO: Men Fight, Tackle Police, Then Passerbys Rush In And Open Can Of Whoop A-

A now-viral video showed at least two citizens jumped in to assist NYPD officers in subduing a suspect on Tuesday.

New York, NY – The New York Police Department (NYPD) is investigating an arrest that was captured in a now-viral video that featured police officers hitting a suspect with their collapsible batons (video below).

The incident began shortly before 2:30 on Tuesday when subway riders in Washington Heights began calling police to complain about the behavior of two men on the platform, the New York Post reported.

Officers responded to the scene and encountered 37-year-old William Sidney and 36-year-old Aaron Grissom in the subway station.

The New York Post reported that both men left the station once police arrived, but then they got into an altercation with the officers back up at street level.

The video, which is loudly narrated in what some commenters identified as Dominican Republic Spanish, was posted to Instagram on Tuesday night.

It showed Sidney and Grissom standing in an intersection arguing with two police officers, and then one officer pulled out his collapsible baton and extended it.

The first officer took a swipe at one man. Then the second officer extended his baton and hit the suspect with it, the video showed.

The second suspect went after the second cop at the point, and took him to the ground in the street next to a car. Although some of the view is blocked, they can be seen struggling on the ground in the video.

A Good Samaritan who was crossing the street saw the officer fighting with the suspect and ran to help him.

The video showed the man kicked at the suspect on the ground several times before yet another citizen jumped in to help police subdue him.

Both officers struck the man on the ground with their batons as he continued to resist arrest, the video showed.

He appeared to have been subdued just before an NYPD police SUV rolled up on the scene to back up the first two officers.

Police said Sidney and Grissom were both arrested and charged with felony assault, resisting arrest, menacing, disorderly conduct, and loitering, according to the New York Post.

Sidney was also charged with aggravated harassment, according to police.

Blue Lives Matter reached out to NYPD about the video but did not receive a comment.

Watch the incident unfold in the video below:

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Comments

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ProGODProUSA

Jan 9

Good to know that there are still civilians there, in the Big Apple, who would rather help officers than stand around recording them.

DieselDawg

Jan 10

The usual suspects

MiguelDominguez

Jan 10

I can confirm that it is Spanish with a Dominican accent, and she is being supportive of the officers.
By the way: they are not talking loud by Hispanic standards. It's a perfectly normal tone of voice. And yes, stereotypes exist for a reason...

BlueMooseCode4

Jan 10

OK I am kind of embarrassed by the actions of the 2nd officer who took that wimpy strike at the guy then ran off when the other suspect went after him. Time for a new job because you are not officer material.

Caroparks53

Jan 10

Seemed officers were a tad scared. But i would be also. Glad no one seriously harmed in the making of this video..lol